The idea of making changes came from Supervisor Henning Holmgaard, who said he thought people who want to address the board should ask to be put on the agenda. "We will know what is on the agenda and we can prepare for it," he said.

Holmgaard suggested that comment beyond agenda items might be better placed at the end of the business meeting. Supervisors' Chairman John Ackerman, however, preferred that residents be allowed to speak at the beginning of the meeting. "If we limit time, I think it would take care of the problem," he said.

Forks supervisors currently allow residents time to comment on non-agenda items, with no time limit, before they consider unfinished business and new business. Currently, residents are also routinely recognized during the meeting as the board discusses agenda items and residents commonly make comments or ask questions.

At the last supervisors' meeting, developer Martin Zawarski suggested that the township set time limits for public comment to avoid "filibusters."

Supervisor Bonnie Nicholas said many municipalities have time limits for public comment and agreed that the sessions belong at the beginning of the meetings.

Resident Gretchen Gerstel said she didn't object to time limits for public comment, but told the supervisors that developers can wait until residents have their say. "If it's that important to him [a developer], he can wait for the citizens," she said.

Former Supervisor Stanley Kocher suggested a three-minute time limit.

"If you are prepared, you can put an awful lot into three minutes," he said.

Robert Fretz, another former supervisor, told the board the problem wasn't with public comment. "The problem is the time it takes to give an answer," he said.

A review of the past 10 supervisors' meetings since May 6 shows that six of the business sessions haven't gone beyond 9 p.m., three went past 9 p.m. and one past 10 p.m.

At eight of the meetings, the board also went into executive session after the regular business meeting. Those closed-door sessions lasted about an extra hour on average.

Pending litigation and personnel are among the issues that can be legally discussed in executive sessions.

A check in the area showed several municipalities with time limits for public comment.

In Easton, residents are limited to five minutes when they address City Council. Bethlehem City Council recently adopted a 12-minute limit.